The Only Way Out
Bush Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Follow me down to the water
Through the tripwires in your head
Through the seven layers
Of your holy bed

Where there is no warm guard
By the cities of systems
I wanna be your savior
I wanna be your seasons

The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you
The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you

Follow me down to the freeway
Where the beat goes on
And a heatwave lost the night

Say what you will but we pray
To the gods of our own demise
All the time

The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you
The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you

Lets build a bonfire tonight
We'll stay warm in the night time
Warm in the night time

Follow me down to the water
Through the tripwires in your head
Through the seven layers
Of your holy bed

Oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh

The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you
The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you
The only way out
The only way out




The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you

Overall Meaning

The opening line, "Follow me down to the water," serves as an invitation, a call to follow the singer into murky territory. As they journey through this territory, through the "tripwires in your head" and the "seven layers/ Of your holy bed," the singer expresses the desire to be a guide, a savior to the person they are addressing.


The chorus, with its repeated statement that "The only way out is through," suggests that the only way to overcome whatever troubles them is to confront it head-on, to slog through the thicket of negativity and reach the other side. The following line, "Lost my mind over you," implies that the person they are addressing holds a certain power over the singer, and that this power has driven them to the brink of insanity.


The second verse expands on this theme, taking us "down to the freeway" where "the beat goes on" and "a heatwave lost the night." It's a vivid image of urban decay, but the singer refuses to give in to despair. They acknowledge that "we pray/ To the gods of our own demise/ All the time," but once again urge their companion to follow them into the wild, to build a bonfire and "stay warm in the night time." Throughout the song, the message is clear: the only way out of darkness and into the light is to press forward, to face one's fears and not retreat.


Line by Line Meaning

Follow me down to the water
Come with me to face your emotions and inner conflicts


Through the tripwires in your head
Despite the obstacles and doubts you may have in your mind


Through the seven layers
Through all the deep and complex emotions and thoughts that you struggle with


Of your holy bed
Your personal, sacred emotional space


Where there is no warm guard
Where you can't hide behind emotional walls and defenses


By the cities of systems
By the society and its rules and norms


I wanna be your savior
I want to help you face your fears and find a way out


I wanna be your seasons
I want to be there for you throughout all the changes you experience


The only way out is through
The only way to overcome your inner conflicts and emotional struggles is to face them head-on


Lost my mind over you
I'm consumed by trying to help you and resolve our issues


Follow me down to the freeway
Let's take action and move forward together in our journey


Where the beat goes on
Where life continues despite our personal struggles


And a heatwave lost the night
Despite the heat and intensity of our emotions and conflicts, we won't let it control us


Say what you will but we pray
Despite what others may say or think, we'll do what we believe is best


To the gods of our own demise
We may be heading towards destruction, but we'll make our own choices and face our own consequences


All the time
It's a constant struggle and process


Lets build a bonfire tonight
Let's take comfort and warmth in our shared experience and emotions


We'll stay warm in the night time
We'll support each other through the dark and difficult times


The only way out
There's no other escape, no shortcuts or easy ways out


The only way out is through
We must face our struggles together and work towards a resolution


Lost my mind over you
I'm committed to helping you, even if it means losing my own sanity




Lyrics Ā© BMG Rights Management
Written by: GAVIN ROSSDALE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@earthalien77

Follow me down to the water
Through the trip wires in your head
Through the seven layers
Of your holy bed

Where there is no one God
But a series of systems
I wanna be your savior
I wanna be your seasons

The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you
The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you

Follow me down to the freeway
Where the beat goes on
And a heatwave blast the night

Say what you will but we pray
To the God's of our own demise
All the time

The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you
The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you

Let's build a bonfire tonight
We'll stay warm in the night time
Warm in the night time

Follow me down to the water
Through the trip wires in your head
Through the seven layers
Of your holy bed

Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh

The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you
The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you

The only way out
The only way out
The only way out is through
Lost my mind over you



All comments from YouTube:

@Lea_Deetz

All bands grow and evolve in their lives, their experience, their sound. I was a fan 20 years ago, and I'm still a fan now <3

@ayushsrivastava2796

and you still look 2ā™”..
hope you're doing well šŸ™‚

@randallabracadabra

It's a decent song, maybe it's just the studio production of it that doesn't sound very good. It lacks dimension to me, like something Cold Play would make with Gavin at the helm, but very sterile sounding like they're marketing this to a specific audience that lacks depth in their taste.

@Vaheed1271

Wow!! Good job guys! Not a lot of bands can consistently put out great albums.

@igrinningreaper5791

I really wish bush had a larger following, they really are a band worthy of respect! Such an amazing song!

@robinkitchen164

Love the depth in his lyrics. Few songwriters impress me like Gavin Rossdale in that respect. Keep up the good work!

@timstratton4929

This song is really stuck in my head!! This song deserves a lot more credit.

@LinesByGriffy

Itā€™s been stuck in my head all week @_@

@jasonstorey4535

With all the evil in the world today, this song always gives me hope to keep going! Not much longer guy, hang in there.

@rogeriobisons

Minha banda favorita que nunca tinha ouvido falar e estou muito feliz de ter conhecido.

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